This invention relates generally to a vehicle air bag module and, more particularly, to the construction and mounting of a driver-side air bag module.
Most passenger vehicles are now fitted with driver-side air bags. These air bags are usually contained in a module which is secured to the vehicle steering wheel assembly by rivets or threaded fasteners. These modules contain an inflator, a container mounting the inflator and the air bag, and a functional and decorative cover enclosing the air bag.
The cover has tear lines which the inflating air bag ruptures to form doors which open to enable the air bag to deploy. The cover is usually attached to the container by rivets, as is the air bag and inflator. The air bag module normally utilizes numerous fasteners and stampings to assemble the component parts together into a module and to mount the module to the steering wheel assembly. Consequently, the structure is complex and assembly is time-consuming.
It would be desirable to provide a driver-side air bag module of reduced complexity which is assembled solely through the use of interengaging surfaces on the component parts and requires no additional fasteners.
It would be further desirable to provide a driver-side air bag module in which the component parts are assembled by using a minimum number of manual manipulations.